tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post1916521212697045391..comments2015-07-23T01:36:25.439-05:00Comments on Pappillon: UPDATED: Laurent Fignon is DeadJMPnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-40249962698786306022010-09-04T02:42:25.098-05:002010-09-04T02:42:25.098-05:00Nice post, great video, thanksNice post, great video, thankshs3mibhttp://helmets-jackets.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-8937723459342669472010-09-02T05:45:07.301-05:002010-09-02T05:45:07.301-05:00&quot;We Were Young and Carefree&quot; is the engl...&quot;We Were Young and Carefree&quot; is the english translation of his autobiography: Nous étions jeunes et insouciants and it was released this year (and available at Amazon).<br /><br />Still looking for suitable clips to link... I&#39;m afraid all I&#39;ve come up with are in French (including a rich one from Vélo Club with LeMond in 2007 where they talk about the &#39;89 Tour).<br /><br />He was very opinionated which I loved! He could be cranky and harsh and did not suffer fools... But he loved cycling and, most especially, racing. I think would have enjoyed his commentary, Joe.camnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-56412016812233789312010-09-01T15:04:26.002-05:002010-09-01T15:04:26.002-05:00Anon, thanks for sharing your experience w/ Fignon...Anon, thanks for sharing your experience w/ Fignon&#39;s 2010 work. I wish I&#39;d known that he was so on the ropes...for some reason I&#39;d just assumed that he&#39;d battled back to a position of stability w/ the disease. <br /><br />Fignon as a person I really know nothing about, unfortunately. He was finishing his career when I was still a junior, and not speaking French, I wasn&#39;t able to access efficiently his body of work. <br /><br />Is there an english-language version of his biograhy/memoirs? <br /><br />Lastly, has anyone or any network put together a good video montage in tribute to Fignon and in celebration of his career? If so, someone please post the link.JMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05346798683078093966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-57188405740754666962010-09-01T14:26:10.968-05:002010-09-01T14:26:10.968-05:00I was in France during the Tour this summer. Fign...I was in France during the Tour this summer. Fignon was providing commentary on the last 10km of each stage because he was too weak to spend hours on TV. It was evident he wasn&#39;t doing well - his voice was in BAD shape. Nevertheless, he passed more quickly than I anticipated.<br /><br />I was always (still am) a LeMond fan and I thought of Fignon as the guy with the black hat. But, over time my opinion changed and I came to respect him a great deal. May he RIP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-32172710995209619362010-09-01T02:12:39.340-05:002010-09-01T02:12:39.340-05:00Cam, thanks for your heart-felt words and expressi...Cam, thanks for your heart-felt words and expression of true emotion at the death of Fignon. <br /><br />If you have an especially memorable clip (audio or video w/ sound) of Fignon doing commentary, please send me the link and I&#39;d be happy to post it.JMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05346798683078093966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-39477674187226461592010-09-01T02:01:28.959-05:002010-09-01T02:01:28.959-05:00No being over in europe, I know it&#39;s hard to u...No being over in europe, I know it&#39;s hard to understand how integral a part of cycling Fignon had become with commentary. He could be harsh at times (and I&#39;m sure many cyclists grimaced at his insightful analysis), but he spoke from his own experience and spoke true. And when he spoke, I always listened. He was the voice of cycling to me that I most respected and enjoyed.<br /><br />I was gutted when he announced he had cancer.<br /><br />And could he ever be funny -- he had an absolutely wicked sense of humour! He had me in stitches this Tour, even raspy voiced, with the noises he made whilst Andy Schleck descended after the Chaingate incident.<br /><br />His love of life, of cycling, was evident even to the last. He was a fighter and it showed, both with his words and deeds. I think his death hit everyone so hard because we really thought he had what it took to win this one, against the odds. He never gave up and fought it with such beautiful dignity.<br /><br />Whilst i admired him as a cyclist, I will honestly will miss him most of all, selfishly, for his brilliant commentary.<br /><br />The Tour will never be the same.<br /><br />R.I.P. Laurent!camnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-6007550927199597142010-08-31T13:01:17.850-05:002010-08-31T13:01:17.850-05:00Ummm, it would have been nice to watch video of Fi...Ummm, it would have been nice to watch video of Fignon winning something, not losing to LeMond.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-77905697160979770742010-08-31T12:27:55.272-05:002010-08-31T12:27:55.272-05:00Thanks for your comments so far, folks. Fignon was...Thanks for your comments so far, folks. Fignon was 50, actually, having just celebrated a birthday this month, I believe. <br /><br />As I just told a friend of mine, today is <br />a sad day, for sure, but we must celebrate Fignon and ensure that his memory is firmly established w/in the realm of internet-based cycling history, and that his name is etched into the pantheon of cycling greats. <br /><br />I finished second-from-last in my first bike race, which was in 1989, but decided to stick with the sport because of the inspiring story that was the battle for the Tour b/w LeMond and Fignon. <br /><br />Hopefully some amateur team in the US will decide to reprise the Super-U kit and will make it the basis for their team’s 2011 design!<br /><br />Gitane is a great bike, but I think &quot;Fignon&quot; would be an even cooler brand name.<br /><br />Maybe Trek can start making commemorative models in ltd #&#39;s to commemorate all of the Tour winners pre-Armstrong.JMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05346798683078093966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-39819024115288074982010-08-31T12:14:23.559-05:002010-08-31T12:14:23.559-05:00Holy shit! Fignon is dead?! But he&#39;s like 49 o...Holy shit! Fignon is dead?! But he&#39;s like 49 only, right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-19770058798772729402010-08-31T11:48:05.688-05:002010-08-31T11:48:05.688-05:00The death of Fignon is a tragedy for cycling, Fren...The death of Fignon is a tragedy for cycling, French sport, humanity - but you have written a respectable - respectful - note on his death and for that we people of France acknowledge you. Let us hope it is not the death of another of our hero&#39;es that brings forth yuor talents again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29196779.post-82372148480278308402010-08-31T11:25:01.598-05:002010-08-31T11:25:01.598-05:00Nice post, great video, thanks for including a pic...Nice post, great video, thanks for including a pic from the Giro. Noticing a lot of TT shots! whew. Wow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com